image description
The manager of the Sonsini Animal Shelter is hoping a GoFundMe will give the no-kill shelter more time to find a solution to its financing and location problems.
image description
The cramped quarters inside the shelter.
image description
Limited outdoor access for the dogs.

Eleanor Sonsini Shelter Hoping to Buy Time with Community Support

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
Print Story | Email Story

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Time. That is what the manager of the Eleanor Sonsini Animal Shelter is asking for.

On Friday, the shelter's board of directors announced on social media that the facility on Crane Avenue will be closing, citing financial constraints and insufficient space.

Soon after, shelter manager Noelle Howland created a GoFundMe page that has since garnered more than $25,000 of its $30,000 goal. Her goal is to buy time and move toward securing a better building.

"Either I buy us time or, hopefully, we will get a good chunk of change and we can stay open and eventually just get out of here," she said.

In 2018, the city pulled its contract to take stray animals to Sonsini and the nonprofit shelter was ordered to leave the municipal-owned building in Downing Industrial Business Park. This brought operations to a smaller location at 875 Crane Ave., which was intended to be temporary.

"People are aware of the conditions we're in," Howland said. "And I don't want to buy time to stay here for good because this is not conditions they should be in."


The shelter needs a generally larger space with more place for the dog kennels, a larger outdoor space for dog pens, a separate area for cats that is not combined with the office, and ideally a place for meet and greets.

The board estimated that $90,000 to $100,000 will be needed to stay open and fund six months of operation. It had originally eyed the end of August for a closing date but Howland was told that even a couple thousand dollars will delay the closing.

Due to the facility's high costs for heating, the board wants to be out of the facility for winter. This means finding homes for the dogs and cats while efforts to save the shelter are underway.

There are currently seven dogs and 12 cats at Eleanor Sonsini and eight cats in foster care.

Howland emphasized the importance of the public being aware of the shelter's needs. Monetary donations, supply donations, and of course adoptions are great ways to support the no-kill facility.

There are a good amount of applications for cats but the staff want to make sure that all of the lovable K9s find a great forever home.

More information on available animals can be found here.


Tags: animal shelter,   

If you would like to contribute information on this article, contact us at info@iberkshires.com.

ADOPTED! Companion Corner: Cali and Kyzer at Berkshire Humane Society

By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff

Great news, Kyzer and Cali found a home for Christmas already! Still looking for a new friend for the holidays? There are plenty of dogs and cats and small animals at Berkshire Humane who would love to go home with you.

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — There's a bonded dog pair awaiting a new family at the Berkshire Humane Society.

Kyzer and Cali are both poodles. Kyzer is the male and is 7 years old, a quite a bit bigger than his sister Cali, who is a miniature of Kyzer and 8 years old.

Canine adoption counselor Rhonda Cyr introduced us to the two.

"They came from a household that couldn't hold on to them, and it sounds like they may have been abandoned by their previous owner with somebody else, and so they came to us looking for a new home," she said.

The two love to be around you and snuggle. But both are very happy dogs.

"Kyzer is 7 years old, and his personality is that he kind of wants to be in everything. He's very loving, very snuggly, as you can tell. And Callie here, she's 8 years old, and she is kind of like the life of the party," said Cyr. "She wants to tell you everything about her day, and she's a little bit of a little ham."

The two are considered seniors and really like soft treats as Cali just had a few teeth removed and Kyzer has a tooth procedure coming up.

"Currently, they really like soft treats, because they are both on the senior side of things. So they have had some dental work, so they are really in need of something softer. They are not big chewers at this age, really, their main focus right now is just really socializing and cuddling," Cyr said.

The two would love a quiet home with someone who wants to snuggle. They shouldn't go to a home with bigger dogs but if you have a dog, you can bring them in for a visitation with the poodles to see if they will get along. Cats will be fine and the preference is for older and more responsible children so that the pups don't get hurt, as they are senior citizens.

"The perfect home for them would be a quiet home that's not too active. Like I said, they're very social, so they could handle some visitors," she said. "They're very friendly, but I don't think that they would really enjoy any other dogs in the home."

Poodles need to be regularly groomed, and the prospective adopter will have to keep an eye on their health. Kyzer has a heart murmur that needs to be monitored. This doesn't mean he is in bad health, as he could live a perfectly normal life, but he will need to be checked by a veterinary specialist routinely.

"Ideally, he would go to a home that could provide further health care with a specialist in cardiac care. And you know, he could very well live out the rest of his life comfortably and happy," Cyr said. "We just don't have all that information at the moment, but I think that you know the way he's going right now. He's got a good spirit, and he seems to be pretty happy."

The shelter is hoping the to get them a home for the holidays.

"We would love to get them a home in time for the holidays. They've been here since the eighth of November, and they're really, really looking as much as the staff loves them here, we're really looking to get them into a home and somewhere nice and cozy so they can spend the rest of their life together," she said.

View Full Story

More Pittsfield Stories